Reel Legal Test 2

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Varies from state to state. Generally, killing which is deliberate and premeditated and sometimes in conjunction with a felony. Each state establishes specific criteria. 2nd degree lacks premeditation.: 1st Degree Murder
Abbreviated history of an official record often used in the context of an abstract of a land title.: Abstracts
Temporary postponement of the proceedings of a case until a specified future time.: Adjournment
The ___ ____ ____ are a resource used by American lawyers to find a variety of sources relating to specific legal rules, doctrines, or principles. It is an important tool for legal research.: American Law Reports (ALR)
The formal attendance in court or at a hearing of a party in an action.: Appearance
The first official court appearance made by a criminal defendant at which he or she is formally charged with an offense and called on to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges contained in the state's indictment or information.: Arraignment
The chief law officer of a country, state or nation.: Attorney General
The legal system that allows an accused person to be temporarily released from custody (usually on condition that a sum of money guarantees their appearance at trial).: Bail
A witness who testifies under oath as to the good reputation of another person in the community where that person lives.: Character Witness
Following the summations by counsel, the judge gives the jury precise instructions about the law that must be applied to the case. The judge outlines the facts the prosecution must prove in order to establish the guilt of the accused, and advise jurors o: "Charging the Jury"
Final statement during trial made by attorneys for each party in which they summarize both the evidence they have presented and that which they assert the opposing party has failed to prove. Also called closing statement, closing argument or summation.: Closing
Disobedience of the rules, orders or process of a court, or gross disrespect to the judge or officials. The court has power to punish any such offences by fines and/or confinement.: Contempt
A postponement of a trial or hearing to a later date that can be granted only by the court.: Continuance
A compulsory pretrial disclosure of documents relevant to a case; enables one side in a litigation to elicit information from the other side concerning the facts in the case.: Discovery
An official court record book or calendar which lists all the cases before the court and which may also note the status or action required for each case.: Docket
Consists of personal property (car, household items, and other tangible items), real property, and intangible property, such as stock certificates and bank accounts, owned in the individual name of a person at the time of the personâ€™s death: Estate
Excusable homicide is a killing that is found not to have the required intent to amount to murder, due to justifying or unusual circumstances. It is a crime governed by state laws, which vary by state.: Excusable Defense
An offense for which a sentence of death or a term of imprisonment for one year (in most states and as regards to federal crimes) or more is provided.: Felony
Destitute: poor enough to need help from others.: Impoverished
Is a legal term meaning "in private". When proceedings are held in the chambers of a judge not to be open to the public.: In Camera and/or "In Chambers"
An accusation or criminal charge similar to an indictment, except that it is brought by the public prosecutor rather than a grand jury.: Information
A seldom used defense for criminal insanity that labels the person insane if he or she could not control their actions when committing a crime, even though they knew their actions were wrong.: Irresistible Impulse
A mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot manage his/her own affairs, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior. In criminal cases, a plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity" will req: Insanity
The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case, and the â€œgeographic areaâ€ and/or â€œsubject matterâ€ over which the court has authority to decide cases.: Jurisdiction
In law, a legitimate reason or explanation for something which would otherwise be illegal. Allows an act to be "declared just": Justification
â€œNo faultâ€ homicides characterized by a lack of criminal intent and the person found to have committed a justifiable homicide is freed. They are distinguished from crimes of passion, which involves a lessening of the charge or sentence.: Justifiable Homicide
Theft of property without forced entry, or use of force.: Larceny
A fee paid for legal service.: Legal Fee
Or a "polygraph" means a lie detector, polygraph, psychological stress evaluator or other device, mechanism or instrument, regardless of what it is called, which is operated or the results of which are used or interpreted by a polygraph examiner for the p: Lie Detector Test
An unlawful killing without premeditation or malice (intent). It can be voluntary or involuntary, depending upon the circumstances attending the killing.: Manslaughter
A legal procedure protesting an inappropriate question asked of a witness by the opposing attorney, intended to make the trial judge decide if the question can be asked.: Objection
A formal request for something, submitted to an authority such as a court or a government agency.: Petition
That on law on which a precedent or an issue to be decided.: "Point of Law"
Or autopsy: an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death.: Postmortem
An established rule of law set by a previous case. Courts should follow precedent when it is advisable and possible.: Precedent
The crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so.: Premeditated Murder
In all lawsuits involving Conflict of Laws, questions of procedure as opposed to substance are always determined by the law of the state in which the case is being litigated.: Procedure
A written promise by one party to pay a specific amount of money to another party.: Promissory Note
The crime of having sexual intercourse with another person without consent.: Rape
To counter, disprove or contradict the opposing party's evidence or presumption by introducing new evidence.: Rebuttal
Refers to a break in a trial or other court proceedings until a defined date and time in the future. Similar to â€œContinuanceâ€.: Recess
Trial process by which the party who offered the witness has a chance to explain or otherwise qualify any damaging or accusing testimony brought out by the opponent during cross-examination.: Redirect
A string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Roman Catholics).: Rosary
A discussion by the judge and the attorneys at trial that takes place at the judgeâ€™s desk, but not intended for the jurors or others in the courtroom to hear.: Sidebar
A brief statement that presents the main points of a legal argument in a concise form.: Summary
A defense by the accused that he or she was briefly insane at the time the crime was committed and therefore was incapable of knowing the nature of the alleged criminal act.: Temporary Insanity
Official record of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceeding of the Supreme Court of the United States.: United States Reports
Mutual assent (or consent) between two or more parties; normally leads to a contract; may be verbal or written.: Agreement
A pleading describing some criminal wrong or offense.: Charge
Evidence based on inference and not on personal knowledge or observation that does not directly prove a fact but gives rise to a presumption that a fact does exist. Details or facts which indirectly point to other facts.: Circumstantial Evidence
The final step in the sale and purchase of real estate in which the seller's deed of title is exchanged for the buyer's payment.: Closing (in real estate)
Is the process or result of concessions from both sides of a dispute with the aim of finding common middle ground. Settlement of differences is achieved from mutual adjustment of conflicting claims/principles by yielding a part of each.: Compromise
The opportunity for the attorney for one party to ask questions in court of a witness who has testified in a trial on behalf of the opposing party. The questions are limited to the subjects covered in the direct examination of the witness.: Cross Examination
The act of giving, as an estate, and directing the mode of descent (the kinship relation). In the film, the character Walter Cunningham, is most likely in a dispute over who is rightful heir to a piece of property.: Entailment
Purpose is to investigate alleged crimes, examine evidence, and issue indictments if they believe that there is enough evidence for a trial to proceed. They are an impartial panel of citizens who must determine whether reasonable cause or probable cause: Grand Jury
A meeting of the minds; an agreement.: Mutual Consent
A delay of time during which some legal action is awaited.: Postponement
In criminal law, a person has the right to use physical force to defend themselves, their property or another against an aggressorâ€™s imminent use of unlawful force.: Self Defense
The formal decision of the jury in a jury trial (or finding of guilt or innocence), or of the judge in a bench trial.: Verdict
The directions, in written legal form, for the distribution of one's property after death.: Will
A juror selected in the same manner as a regular juror who hears all the evidence but does not help decide the case unless called on to replace a regular juror. Normally dismissed if not needed just prior to the full jury beginning their deliberation on: Alternate Juror
The discussions of the jury which occur after the judge has instructed them to retire to the jury room and consider their verdict. OR The process by which jurors discuss evidence presented in a case in order to harmonize their opinions and reach a cons: Deliberate
A false document, signature, or other imitation of an object of value used with the intention to deceive another into believing it is the real thing. Those who commit this are commonly charged with the crime of fraud.: Forgery
A jury unable to come to a final decision, resulting in a mistrial. Judges do their best to avoid these, typically sending juries back into deliberations with an assurance (sometimes known as a "dynamite charge") that they will be able to reach a decision: Hung Jury
A judge's direction to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply.: Jury Instructions
Clemency: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice.: Mercy
The reason why a crime was committed or the cause(s) that moves people to take a certain action.: Motive
Planning, plotting, or deliberating before doing something. This is an element in first degree murder and shows intent to commit that crime.: Premeditation
A government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state.: Prosecutor
If, in the minds of the jury, a doubt exists which may have arisen from the evidence, or lack of evidence, a doubt that would exist in the mind of a reasonable person after fully, fairly, and carefully considering all of the evidence, or lack of evidence.: Reasonable Doubt
To keep separate or apart from others. In "high-profile" criminal prosecutions which have been highly publicized the jury is sometimes sequestered in a hotel without access to news media, the general public or their families except under supervision, in o: Sequester
A statement made in a legal proceeding or an administrative or legislative hearing by a witness while witness who provides false testimony is guilty of perjury. This is one type of evidence, as distinguished from writings, videotapes, and other forms of: Testimony
In felony (a serious crime, usually punishable by at least one year in prison.) criminal cases the jury must be unanimous (everyone must agree). If the jury cannot reach this, it is said to be "hung," and the case is dismissed, leaving the prosecutor fre: Unanimous Verdict

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Deck Info

Number of cards 73

Created By jberb